Pakistan logs 50-plus more Covid cases

Pakistan has registered another 56 Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the data released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Sunday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,652 whereas the number of total infections now soared to 1,580,125 after adding the fresh 56 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Saturday), 2,940 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 1.90%. The number of patients in critical care stood at 14.

COVID-19 Statistics 09 April 2023
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 2,940
Positive Cases: 56
Positivity %: 1.90%
Deaths: 00
Patients on Critical Care: 14
(shared by NCOC-NIH)

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) April 9, 2023

Covid infection through womb caused brain damage in two infants: Study

Researchers have found that Covid-19 infection can also break into placenta and infect foetuses, causing brain damage to the newborns. The University of Miami study has recently confirmed two cases where babies born to young mothers, who were tested positive to coronavirus' Delta variant in 2020, suffered seizures leading to significant development delays. The report said one of them died at 13 months of age while the other was placed in hospice care unit.

According to the study, neither of the babies tested Covid positive at birth, however, they had high levels of anitibodies to the virus in their blood. This suggests that the virus had likely transferred from the mother to the baby invading the placenta, Dr Merline Benny, a neonatologist at the University of Miami, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Evidence of virus was discovered in placentas of both mothers.

Traces of the coronavirus was also found after an autopsy was conducted in the brain of the child who died. According to Dr Benny, the presence of the virus suggests its direct infection causing brain injury.

Despite being tested positive for the virus, one of the mothers had only mild symptoms and carried the baby full-term, whereas, the other one fell severely sick which forced doctors to deliver her baby eight weeks early, the study said.

However, the study couldn't work out whether the condition was unique to the coronavirus' Delta variant or there is a possibility of similar medical condition with the Omicron variants.

Obstretrician and gynaecologist at the University Dr Shahnaz Duara said though such cases are rare, women who were infected during their pregnancies should inform about the situation to their children's paediatricians to check for developmental delays.

Doctors earlier suggested possibilities of infection from pregnant mothers to their infant through placenta but there was no direct evidence until now.